Injury causes Ryan Getzlaf to sit out Ducks’ season opener

Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf takes the puck down the rink during the first day of training camp for the Anaheim Ducks at the RINKS in Anaheim, on Friday, September 15, 2017. (Photo by Nick Agro, Orange County Register/SCNG)

ANAHEIM – Ryan Getzlaf will not play in the Ducks’ season opener against Arizona on Thursday night due to a lower-body injury.

Ducks coach Randy Carlyle ruled out his star captain after he took part in the morning skate. Getzlaf did practice with the team on Wednesday but it is clear that the injury didn’t respond to the skate in the matter that he hoped.

It is the first season opener that Getzlaf has missed in his 13-year NHL career, all of which has been spent with the Ducks. Getzlaf has been durable, having played in 94 percent of the Ducks’ games since his second season.

To adjust for Getzlaf’s absence, the Ducks called back left wing Giovanni Fiore from the AHL’s San Diego Gulls. Fiore, who led the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with 52 goals last season, will play his first NHL game after lasting until the final cuts from training camp on Monday.

As he did throughout the preseason, Carlyle will have to move his forwards as they also won’t have Patrick Eaves and Ryan Kesler who are both on injured reserve. Fiore did play on the top line in exhibition games but it’s possible Andrew Cogliano or Nick Ritchie gets bumped up against the Coyotes.

John Gibson will get the start in goal after a preseason where he had a 1.85 goals-against average and .935 save percentage in 195 minutes of action. Francois Beauchemin begins his third stint with the Ducks while Josh Manson plays his first game since signing a four-year contract extension Wednesday.

Here is the possible lineup for the Ducks:

Andrew Cogliano-Rickard Rakell-Jakob Silfverberg

Nick Ritchie-Antoine Vermette-Corey Perry

Chris Wagner-Dennis Rasmussen-Logan Shaw

Giovanni Fiore-Derek Grant-Ondrej Kase

Cam Fowler-Josh Manson

Francois Beauchemin-Brandon Montour

Korbinian Holzer-Kevin Bieksa

Rick Tocchet starts his second stint as an NHL head coaching with a franchise that he previously spent some time with as a player and assistant. Tocchet was an assistant to Mike Sullivan on the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

Tocchet starts with a team that hasn’t made the playoffs since reaching the Western Conference finals in 2012 but GM John Chayka has created a mix full of promising young forwards augmented by some proven veterans with loads of playoff experience.

Center Derek Stepan was acquired from the New York Rangers and defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson was brought in from Chicago. Both have 225 postseason contests between them, with Hjalmarsson playing on three Cup champions with the Blackhawks and Stepan reaching the 2014 Cup Final with the Rangers.

Jason Demers was also added to an upgraded blue line in a preseason trade with Florida that sent veteran forward Jamie McGinn to the Panthers. Oliver Ekman-Larsson will play after injuring his left knee in an exhibition game.

Louis Domingue will get the start in goal with newly-acquired netminder Antti Raanta backing up as he looks to fully recover from a lower-body injury. Raanta is seen as the Coyotes’ new No. 1 goalie with Mike Smith now in Calgary but Domingue is expected to challenge for starts.